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Portrait Paintings For Sale
Period: 19th Century
Period: 1970s
Rare Antique Boston School Violin Player Portrait Oil Painting, ca 1890’s
Located in Baltimore, MD
Although unsigned, this is a very well executed portrait of a violin player seated in a hushed setting. It is surely Boston School in style and dating to the very end of the 19th cen...
Category

1890s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Woman posing mixed media painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jordi Curós Ventura (1930-2007) - Woman Mixed technique on canvas cardboard. Work measurements 46x38 cm. Frameless. Jordi Curós Ventura (Olot, Girona, March 4, 1930) is a Spanish pa...
Category

1970s Fauvist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Portrait of a woman, Tasie
Located in PARIS, FR
Jean Jules Antoine LECOMTE DU NOÜY Paris, 1842 - Paris, 1923 Portrait of a woman, Tasie Painting, oil on wood Signed, titled and dated 1876: "Tasie / Lecomte du Nouy / 76" Painting: ...
Category

1870s Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid 19th Century English Oil Painting Portrait of Country Lady in Headscarf
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Country Lady English School, mid 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 21.5 x 25.5 inches provenance: private collection condition: basic good condition but ver...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Enchantress - 19th Century Belle Epoque Oil Painting Portrait French Beauty
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘The Enchantress’ by Nathaniel Sichel (1843-1907). This large fine 19th century oil on canvas, depicting a dark-haired beauty wearing a crown of holly, is signed by the artist and ha...
Category

Late 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique Russian Icon Mother God Deesis 19th Century Paint Egg Tempera on panel
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Antique Russian icon ''Mother of God of Deesis'' Central Russia - 19th century 71 x 40 cm. Egg tempera on wooden panel Antique Russian icon with the Mother of God, portrayed full-...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera

Guinevere - 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Oil Painting of King Arthur Queen Legend
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Guinevere’ by Norman Prescott-Davies R.B.A, R.C.A. (1861-1915). The painting – which depicts an English mediaeval portrait of Queen Guinevere at Amesbury Priory contemplating her lo...
Category

Late 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Study of a Breton shepherdess
Located in PARIS, FR
Théodore VALERIO (Herserange, 1819 – Vichy, 1879) Study of a Breton shepherdess Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard Bears the sale stamp at the bottom 31 x 22 cm Provenance: Sale o...
Category

Late 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

" Mother " Child, Mother, Mother's Day oil cm 67 x 100
Located in Torino, IT
Child,Baby,Maternity,child,Mother,Green,Window,spring,russian art GLEB SAVINOV (Charkev, 1915 – St. Petersburg, 2000) Works by Gleb Savinov can be found in various private collect...
Category

1970s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Young Belle Epoque Beauty - 19th Century Oil Painting Portrait French Girl Paris
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Young Beauty holding a Red Rose’ by Étienne Adolphe Piot (1831-1910). The painting is signed by the artist and hangs in a fine quality gold metal leaf frame. Academy Fine Paintings...
Category

Late 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Othello & Desdemona - 19th Century Oil Painting of Shakespeare Play Venice Italy
Located in Gerrards Cross, GB
‘Othello recounting his adventures to Desdemona and Brabantio’ by Robert Alexander Hillingford (1828-1904). The painting – which depicts Shakespeare’s Venetian general, his lover D...
Category

Late 19th Century English School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of blonde girl with green dress on paper. SIgnés and Dated 1851.
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of blonde girl with green dress on paper. Dated 1851. Technique: watercolor and pencil on painter's cardboard. Some defects ( please see photos). Partially legible signatur...
Category

1850s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Illustration Board

Dipinto Ritratto maschile 1833
Located in Milan, IT
Olio su tela. Scuola francese. In basso a sinistra sono presenti la firma e la data scritte al contrario; la firma è leggibile come H. Faillade. In basso a destra è presente invece...
Category

19th Century Other Art Style Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Saul on the road to Damascus
Located in East Grinstead, GB
Frances Bannerman 1844-1944, was a Canadian born painter. She travelled to France, Italy and England where she lived for the remainder of her life. In 1886 she married an English art...
Category

Late 19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique Dog Painting: Cane Corso ("Bodyguard Dog") Jules Chardigny, circa 1870
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Painting of a Hunting Dog Jules Chardigny (1849-1892) Circa 1870 Oil on wood panel Housed within its beautiful and original ornate original gilt frame. 9 x 7 1/4 (15 1/4 x 1...
Category

1860s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Portrait Of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone By George Frederic Watts
Located in New Orleans, LA
George Frederic Watts 1817-1904 British Portrait of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone Oil on canvas This exceptional portrait captures the stately likeness of the famed “Gra...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lady in paris Street 1900
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
LEBAS Léonie (19th-20th) "Lady in Paris Street 1900" Oil on wood panel signed low right Old Frame regilded with gold leaves Dim panel : 16 X 22 cm Dim frame : 50 X 41 cm LEBAS Léoni...
Category

1890s Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, 19th century English portrait of a dogs head
By George Earl
Located in Woodbury, CT
!9th century English portrait of a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel Wonderful portrait study of this very popular breed of dog. Dating from the middle of the 19th century this piece...
Category

1860s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer Fashion. Young Victorian Lady With Meadow Flowers In Her Straw Hat
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Alice Anne Renshaw. English ( b.1849 - d.1900 ). Young Lady With Meadow Flowers In Her Straw Hat Watercolor & Gouache on Artist's Board ( An embossed stamp in the top left hand corn...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Board

Portrait Of Ferdinando I De Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Serving Bread
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Ferdinando I De Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Serving Bread Italian School - inscribed "Qui Bene Servire Optime Ducker Scit" To Serve Well, Is To Lead Well Large antiq...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The Little Ballerina
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Alphonse PELLET (1853-1926) The Little Ballerina Oil on wood panel signed low right Old frame regilded with leaves Size panel : 30 X 43 cm - Size frame : 40 X 55 cm Alphonse PELLET...
Category

1880s Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mid 19th Century English Oil Painting Portrait of Country Squire in Yellow Waist
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Country Squire English School, mid 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas : 26 x 21.5 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: basic good condition tho...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a British Hong Kong Diplomat, circa 1890 Chinese School -
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait of a British Hong Kong Diplomat, circa 1890 Chinese School - one of a pair we are selling 19th Century Chinese Provincial School portrait ...
Category

Early 19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait The Honourable Mrs Charlotte Gunning, 18th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait The Honourable Mrs Charlotte Gunning, 18th Century circle of Sir Thomas GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788) Large late 18th Century portrait of The Honourable Mrs Charlotte Gunning, oil on canvas. Circa 1780 portrait of Gunning wearing a black wide brim hat, choker and fur lined dress...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Fine Victorian Oil Painting Portrait of Scruffy Terrier Dog Staring in Gilt Frme
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Alert Terrier by Martin Theodore Ward (British 1799-1874) oil on canvas, framed framed: 15.5 x 17.5 inches canvas : 10 x 12 inches provenance: private collection, Berkshire, Engl...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

William Merritt Chase
Located in East Grinstead, GB
Walter Shirlaw 1838-1909 , was a Scottish born American painter who was moved to America with his parents in 1840. Shirlaw studied in Munich where he met and befriended William Merr...
Category

1870s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Gospel Scene on Sunrise Jesus Passing Peter 19th Century Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Stockholm, SE
Gospel of Apostle Luke, Chapter 22: 61. and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Befor...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil

Oil Portrait of a Victorian Lady, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Painted in the 19th century, this exquisite miniature portrait wonderfully exemplifies realism in traditional oil painting. The small artwork is painted in the conventional portraiture style of the Old Masters, and achieves soft realism with fine brushwork and a subdued, neutral palette. The half length portrait depicts a fine Victorian woman dressed in all black with a delicate lace collar and bonnet. She wears a ruby broach...
Category

Mid-19th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Huge Victorian Original Oil Painting Portrait of Little Red Riding Hood
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Little Red Riding Hood by John Talbot Adams (1827-1909) oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 50 x 40 inches provenance: private collection, UK condition: very good and sound condition hav...
Category

Late 19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Breton Fisherman
Located in Marlborough, GB
Sir George Clausen A BRETON FISHERMAN Later inscribed: "To Trythallen Rowe in Friendship / George Clausen 1892 / 28th Sept" Oil on canvas laid down on board Frame 46cm x 37cm Image ...
Category

Late 19th Century Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Orientalist Portrait Painting by Bridell-Fox, 1865
Located in London, GB
Orientalist portrait painting by Bridell-Fox, 1865 English, 1865 Canvas: Height 33cm, width 25cm Frame: Height 49.5cm, width 42cm, depth 6cm This intimate portrait depicts a seated ...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

The Easter Bonnet - Romantic Portrait Oil Painting by Gustave Jean Jacquet
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed oil on panel portrait circa 1890 by French Romantic painter Gustave Jean Jacquet. The work depicts a young redheaded woman wearing a red velvet jacket lined with white fur. On her head she is wearing an Easter bonnet trimmed with leaves. Signature: Signed lower right Dimensions: Framed: 14"x11.5" Unframed: 10"x7.5" Provenance: Baron Fine Art...
Category

1890s Romantic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Portrait of a young woman - dream on ephemeral beauty
By Jean Joseph Weerts
Located in PARIS, FR
Jean Joseph WEERTS Roubaix, 1846 - Paris, 1927 Portrait of a young woman - dream on ephemeral beauty Painting, oil on wood Signed Painting: 24 x 33 cm Beautiful original frame: 41 x ...
Category

Late 19th Century Art Nouveau Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Antique portrait of a boy, child portrait, early 1800's male framed portrait
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique oil portrait from the early 1800's of a child in a black feather hat on a stretched canvas, framed, unsigned. This is a truly exceptional oil painting of a child, it reminds ...
Category

1810s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Woman posing mixed media painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jordi Curós Ventura (1930-2007) - Woman Mixed technique on canvas cardboard. Work measurements 35x27 cm. Frame 40x32 cm. Jordi Curós Ventura (Olot, Girona, March 4, 1930) is a Spani...
Category

1970s Fauvist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Antique portrait of a woman, French romantic oil painting, female portrait
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique portrait of a young woman. Romantic 1800's oil painting on canvas board. This is an attractive, traditional 19th Century French oil painting in its original frame. MORE ABO...
Category

1840s Romantic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Officer & Horse Of The Royal Queens Dragoons, Seven Years War (1756-1763)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Officer & Horse Of The Royal Queens Dragoons, Seven Years War (1756-1763). 18th Century by David MORIER (1704-1770) Large circa 1760 portrait of an officer and horse of the Royal ...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Enormous Religious German Oil Painting Adoration of Madonna & Christ Child
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Adoration of the Madonna & Christ Child German Baroque artist, late 19th century oil painting on canvas framed within highly ornate gilt frame overall size: 68 x 50 inches in total c...
Category

Late 19th Century Baroque Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Woman posing mixed media painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jordi Curós Ventura (1930-2007) - Woman Mixed technique on canvas cardboard. Work measurements 35x27 cm. Frame 40x32 cm. Jordi Curós Ventura (Olot, Girona, March 4, 1930) is a Spani...
Category

1970s Fauvist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Portrait of Old Woman 1893 by Famous Russian Master Oil Painting on Canvas Frame
Located in Stockholm, SE
Attributed by Nikolay Alekseyevich Kasatkin (1859 - 1930). In this touching artwork, the artist perfectly conveyed the character of the old woman, who has seen a lot in her life. The hands, tired out and riddled with veins, lie helplessly on the knees. Her slouched body tells us about the load of years lived. The painter skillfully conveys a sense of wisdom, kindness, and humility through her wrinkled face and detached gaze. The painting exudes warmth with a subtle touch of sadness and reflection on a life lived. Thanks to moderately contrasting colors, the portrait comes to life and shows us the depth of the artist's intention. Kasatkin not only continued the traditions of the best masters of portraiture in Russia in the 19th century, but also introduced new principles into it. He sought to display on canvas not only the external features of a person, but also to demonstrate his spiritual world. Antique oil painting on canvas, signed bottom left, framed. Size app.: 68.5 x 52.3 cm (roughly 27 x 20.6 in), frame is 80.5 x 63.5 cm (roughly 31.7 x 25 in). Very good condition, very well preserved recently conserved condition with minimal wear (notice few micro losses here and there). Please study good resolution images for cosmetic condition. In person actual painting may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Weight of app. 5.4 kg is going to measure 8 kg packed for shipment. Nikolay Alekseyevich Kasatkin (1859 - 1930) was a Russian painter, considered to be one of the founders of Social Realism in Russia. From 1873 to 1883 he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture with Vasily Perov and Illarion Pryanishnikov. Upon graduating, he received a medal for his painting "Beggars at the Church Door". In 1891, he began exhibiting with the Peredvizhniki and, from 1894 to 1917, was a teacher at his alma mater. For thirty years, beginning in 1883, he worked with Ivan Sytin, providing illustrations for his popular almanac/calendars and teaching lithography. He also contributed The Great Reform, an encyclopedia that celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation (1861), and a collection called "Russian History in Pictures". In 1903, he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. He participated in the Exposition Universelle (1900), where he won a silver medal, and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), among others. In 1923, following the Civil War, he was named the first "People's Artist of the Republic" and became a member of the AKhRR (Association of Artists). He is considered to be one of the forerunners of Socialist Realism in the arts and was sometimes called the "Gorky of Painters". In 1956, the Soviet Union honored him with a 40 kopeck commemorative postage stamp. In 1971, his painting of a female mine worker...
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Wood, Oil

Antique Painting of a Hunting Dog Jules Chardigny (1849-1892) Circa 1870
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Painting of a Hunting Dog Jules Chardigny (1849-1892) Circa 1870 Oil on paper. 8 x 6 (18 1/2 x 15 1/4 frame) inches The dog, possibly a Grand Griffon Vendéen, is depicted wi...
Category

1860s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Laid Paper

Portrait of Terrier "Hercules", 19th Century signed JL
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait of Terrier "Hercules", 19th Century signed JL 19th Century English Dog portrait of "Hercules" a small terrier, oil on board signed JL. Good quality and condition head port...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

The Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta, 19th Century
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta, 19th Century attributed William LINTON (1791-1876) to $20,000 Large 19th Century sunset view at the Grand Harbour, Valetta, Malta, oil on canvas ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

A Night At The Opera, 19th Century by Manuel CUSI Y FERRET (1857-1922)
By Manuel Cusi y Ferret
Located in Blackwater, GB
A Night At The Opera, 19th Century by Manuel CUSI Y FERRET (1857-1922) to $20,000 Large 19th century Spanish portrait of a lady at the theatre, oil on canvas by Manuel CUSI Y FERRE...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Antique Dog Painting: Pair of Grand Griffon Vendéen Hunting Dogs, circa 1870
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Antique Dog Painting: Pair of Grand Griffon Vendéen Hunting Dogs Jules Chardigny (France, 1842-1892) circa 1870 Oil on canvas, signed 21 3/4 x 18 1/3 (29 1/8 x 24 3/4 frame) inches This rather large painting depicts a very finely executed portrait of a two Grand Griffon Vendéen hunting dogs. The Grand Griffon Vendéen are a very old breed of French hunting dogs...
Category

1870s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, circa 1900
Located in Blackwater, GB
The Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, circa 1900 school of JAN TOOROP (1858-1928) Huge circa 1900 Symbolist scene from Goethe's poem The Erlkönig, oil on canvas. Excellent qu...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Young woman painting, the artist, 19th Century anonymous master oil painting
Located in Norwich, GB
Painted with inspiration, sensitivity and with grace, this painting depicts a young woman whose right arm is slightly stretched out. Although we cannot see her hand, she must clearly...
Category

1870s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The little bouquet
Located in Greenwich, CT
Miralles is one of Spain's most lauded academic coming towards impressionism painters. He was technically superlative and had a way with lush brushwork that made his work highly sou...
Category

1870s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Feeding The Birds, 19th Century by Charlotte J Weeks (19th Century, British)
Located in Blackwater, GB
Feeding The Birds, 19th Century by Charlotte J Weeks (19th Century, British) Large 19th Century English scene of two ladies feeding birds, oil on canvas by Charlotte J Weeks. Excel...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Full length portrait of a child with his dog
Located in PARIS, FR
Benjamin Théophile CHARON-LÉMERILLON (Paris, 1807 – Bouzareah (Algiers), 1873) Full length portrait of a child with his dog Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 36 x 28 cm 18...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Woman posing acrylic painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jordi Curós Ventura (1930-2007) - Woman Acrylic on canvas on cardboard. Work measurements 55x46 cm. Frameless. Jordi Curós Ventura (Olot, Girona, March 4, 1930) is a Spanish painter...
Category

1970s Fauvist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Portrait of a Man with Architectural Drawing by a European Artist
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Unknown (European, nineteenth century) Man Holding an Architectural Drawing Oil on canvas, 30 3/4 x 25 1/4 inches Framed: 35 1/2 x 30 inches (approx.) Original frame.
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The blue bow: a little boy with tousled hair naturalistic portrait oil painting
Located in Norwich, GB
This sweet little boy sits quietly like a well brought up child, but you can see in his eyes how much he likes to run and play. In this sensitive portrait painted in circa 1860 by Fé...
Category

1860s Naturalistic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique Dutch Impressionist Oil Painting Portrait of a Country Lady
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Country Lady Dutch Impressionist, late 19th century oil on wood - looks like a cigar box lid? framed framed: 11 x 8.5 inches board: 8.5 x 6 inches provenance: private c...
Category

Late 19th Century Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Porcelain Portrait "Duchess of Devonshire" Georgiana Cavendish in Bronze Frame
Located in Jacksonville, FL
A very good quality early 19th Century Austrian, Vienna style convex porcelain plaque depicting a hand painted portrait of the "Duchess of Devonshire." Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess o...
Category

Early 19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Bronze

Portrait Of A Nude Lady, circa 1900 by Philip de László (1869–1937)
By Philip de László, 1869-1937
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of A Nude Lady, circa 1900 by Philip de László (1869–1937) sales to $280,000 Large 19th Century English portrait of a nude lady seated, oil on canvas by Philip de Laszlo. ...
Category

19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Oedipus and Antigone, study of heads
Located in PARIS, FR
Neoclassical school circa 1800-10 Oedipus and Antigone, study of heads Painting, oil on spun wood panel Unsigned Painting: 33 x 42 cm (13 x 16.5 inches) Beautiful original frame: 44....
Category

Early 19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait Of Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), 19th Century
By Sir Thomas Lawrence
Located in Blackwater, GB
Portrait Of Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), 19th Century English School Large 19th Century Portrait Of Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), oi...
Category

Early 19th Century Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Shop Antique and Vintage Portrait Paintings

An elegant and sophisticated decorative touch in any living space, portrait paintings have remained popular throughout the years and are widely loved pieces of art for display in many homes today.

Portrait paintings are at least as old as ancient Egypt, where realistic, lifelike depictions of the recently deceased — commonly known as “mummy portraits” — were painted on wooden panels and affixed to mummies as part of the burial tradition.

For centuries, painters have used portraiture as a means of expressing a subject’s nobility, societal status and authority. Portraits were given as gifts in Renaissance Europe, and a portrait artist might have been commissioned to help mark a significant occasion such as a wedding or a promotion to high office. Prior to the advent of photography, which eventually replaced painted portraits as a quicker and more efficient way of capturing a person’s essence, the subject of a portrait had to sit for hours until the painter had finished. And during the 18th century in particular, if an artist commissioned for a portrait struggled with how to adequately memorialize and capture a subject’s likeness, sometimes a portrait painting wasn’t completed for up to a year.

Whether it’s part of the gallery-style approach to your living-room or dining-room walls or merely inspiration as you devise an eye-grabbing color scheme in your home, a portrait painting is a timeless decorative object for any interior. A landscape painting or sculpture might give you the kind of insight into a specific region of the world or a different culture that you can ascertain only through art. Similarly, when you take the time to learn about the subject of a portrait painting that you bring into your home — the sitter’s history, the relationship between the sitter and the artist should one exist, the story of how the portrait came to be — that work can become intensely personal in addition to its place as an object for an art-hungry corner of your apartment or house.

On 1stDibs, visit a vast collection of famous portrait paintings or works by emerging artists. Search by medium to find the right portrait paintings for your home in oil paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Find portrait paintings in a variety of styles, too, including contemporary, Impressionist and Pop art, or search by artist to find unique works created by painters such as Mark Beard, Steve Kaufman and Montse Valdés.

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